The Search
by The Dessa
Summary: AU, Sequel to Second Beginnings. Six years after Ichigo runs out on his wedding day he comes to the end of his search for the bride he abandoned and finds more than what he can handle.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The door was knocked and before the editor of Karakura Post could answer, a tall man with flaming orange hair and troubled eyes stalked into the room.

'You called for me Urahara san?' said Ichigo Kurosaki roughly, thoroughly annoyed to have been removed from his desk for what he assumed was undoubtedly something useless.

'Yes! Yes I did call you, take a seat Kurosaki san' the tall man glared in suspicion but took his boss' advice nonetheless. 'You're probably wondering why I wanted to speak to you.' Ichigo made no reply but glared more intensely as though daring the older man to stall further. 'I have taken note of your vast progression since you joined the paper three years ago and think it's time for you to progress professionally.'

Ichigo was evidently surprised by the praise and recognition, and for the first time Urahara managed to see the young man without a face clouded with suspicion and heavy thought. 'Wow uh… thanks Urahara san, does this mean I'm getting a promotion.'

'Technically yes.'

Immediately orange eyebrows snapped together 'What do you mean?'

Sensing the danger Urahara wisely decided to answer succinctly, 'You'll get a raise, but I want to move you to a new location, the head company has branches all over Japan and I believe it will be good to get you exposed to different environments and intellectually stimulated.'

'So you want me to leave?'

'You have been scaring the staff more than usual lately, this might be a good opportunity to benefit all of us. And we will expect you to return... eventually.'

'For how long?'

Urahara swivelled around in his chair and stared out his large window before swivelling back to face an almost irate looking Ichigo. 'That depends on you, I would think six months a sufficient minimum but if you are happy in your new position then why not stay longer?'

Ichigo seemed to ponder this, 'I don't know Urahara san, I have other priorities…'

'Then take your time, I expect you answer by Friday.' Replied Urahara kindly, Ichigo nodded his head, and while doing so he noticed a Tokyo paper on the large wooden desk, he gestured towards it and Urahara nodded his head in acceptance. Ichigo took the paper and not bothering to leave the office opened it and started reading it then and there. 'You can leave now.' Said Urahara pleasantly, almost in a sing song voice.

'I scare the staff remember.' Replied Ichigo without looking away from the newspaper, there were stabbings near schools again, and stock market shares continued their wild fluctuations.

'That is correct Kurosaki san but I would like the privacy of my office back.'

'Everyone knows you call your wife every day and mumble sweet nothings to her like a fool.'

'All the more reason I should continue then. Now leave please.'

Ichigo just scoffed and turned the page, then his eyes widened in surprise as he read the black bold title of a modest three columns taking up the bottom let hand corner of the large page, _The Queen butterfly_ it read. Suddenly a very vague memory of a little girl with floor length auburn hair telling a tale with fervent hand gestures and animated voices came to the forefront of his mind. He flicked his eyes to the bottom of the final column trying to discern the author's name, his heart sunk when he read only an alias name to respect the writer's anonymity. Hope sprung up his in his heart when he read the alias name a second time… who else in the world would name themselves Strawberry Gundam?

'Kurosaki-san? I asked you to leave.' Interrupted ichigo's thoughts.

'Tokyo.' Said Ichigo strongly.

'Eh?'

'Move me to Tokyo.' Replied Ichigo firmly, further increasing his boss' rare but confused expression.

* * *

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair, thinking himself stupid for chasing an unattainable dream. He thought over, for the thousandth time, on the day he had run away from a beautiful, unique and kind woman. Orihime Inoue was truly one of a kind, he would not reason his way out of the guilt that would squelch him whenever the memory would materialise. The only comfort he allowed himself was repeating that what was done was done and there was no way to undo the past. However, a burning need to apologise and plead for forgiveness had plundered his soul since the day he had returned to University at the start of the new academic year. He was so full of hope and illogical optimism at acquiring a pardon, only to find Orihime to have left, abandoned her studies and never to return.

He had been horrified to realise that Orihime Inoue no longer studied at the university. Guiltily, he remembered shouting denials at the frightened looking bespectacled admissions clerk when she explained that Orihime had decided to leave her studies suddenly, with no explanation whatsoever.

Confronted her friends and course mates came next for any shred of information which would lead to Orihime's whereabouts. That has been a truly stupid thing to do. Hana and even Yuki were very stony towards him and shared barely two words with him, though Yuki looked like she wanted to administer grievous bodily injury to him, a far cry from when she attempted to seduce him. Orihime's former course mates were equally inhospitable towards him but were truly honest in their denials of information, Orihime had surprised them just as she did to everyone else in her sudden silent departure.

It was times like these where Ichigo wondered on the inevitably torturous questions of _what if. _What if he hadn't run away from her on their wedding day? What if they had gotten married and lived together? Where would their lives had led to six years later?

He had tried through tooth and nail to find her, he had tried tracking any relatives and found none, only a brother who had passed away around the time he had broken their tender friendship and affection. Ichigo wondered how Orihime had managed, he knew he probably wouldn't have been able to handle such a mix of negative emotions, but she… she must have been strong enough. When Ichigo had come home a week after running at his maximum capacity and ending on a train to some nameless place, his father had made him a cup of tea and told him Orihime hadn't stuck around but just made her own way to a distant city to become nameless and traceless, asking not to be followed or consoled.

Ichigo glanced down at the newspaper still clutched tightly in his fist as he made his way home to pack and inform his family of his impending move. His eyes flicked over the title of the short story _The Queen Butterfly. _The lead was unusual, but what else could one expect from her? He knew the chance of success was infinitesimal, but it was a lead nonetheless and he would take any chance thrown at him.

His friends, Hikaru in particular, held a keen motivation for throwing girls at his face in the hopes of tempting him out of his desperation for forgiveness and to move on with his life… and his celibacy. He had considered finding another partner, especially when he felt the loneliness in his life acutely, but he considered his crimes too severe to allow himself respite. There was also the small flickering hope he nursed that he may somehow, in some twisted surreal situation, win Orihime back. Naturally he had only realised that he lost a precious jewel when he threw it away and later realised it did not stay with him. As naïve as he knew he was being in thinking that there could not possibly be another woman in existence for him in the world as perfect as Orihime was, that was how he honestly felt towards her and he knew another girl couldn't compare.

He also knew that wherever Orihime Inoue be now, she would no longer be the same person she once was, time and a traumatic heart break had done that, no doubt, to her. He gripped the Tokyo newspaper tighter, but he would still try.

* * *

Ichigo scowled as he stepped out of the train station, Tokyo was very noisy. Crowds of people walking in every direction prohibited him from walking freely on the streets, tall imposing buildings blocked the sunshine and the lifestyle was so fast he could hardly have time to just stop and think for a moment.

His flickering optimism almost went out, how was he supposed to find Orihime in this city? He frowned in though as he stood at the entrance of the train station, unknowingly attracting attention to himself.

Ichigo shook his head slightly and made his way to his new accommodation.

After Ichigo had disposed of his light luggage at his lodgings, he took his time getting to the Tokyo branch of Karakura Post, which went under the grander name of Tokyo Times. The newspaper headquarters was positioned in yet another tall imposing building and welcomed its visitors with forbidding revolving glass doors.

His new editor was just as eccentric as his former one and it took every ounce of energy Ichigo had not to frown constantly. His new colleagues were conveniently nonchalant towards his presence and paid him no mind, most likely because they were too busy in their workload to notice him. When the lunch hour finally arrived Ichigo headed directly towards the Human Resources department.

'Can I help you sir?' said a bored voice towards Ichigo's left. He glanced towards the direction and found a slightly rotund man in his mid-thirties.

'I'm err, looking for payroll.' Asked Ichigo quickly.

'That would be me.'

'Great. I'd like it if you could get me the name and address of a creative writer that had a few columns in last week's edition.'

The payroll man looked Ichigo up and down briefly, his eyes lingered on the shocking orange hair. 'And who are you exactly?' answered the man with no less intonation of boredom.

'I'm primary editor and reporter Ichigo Kurosaki.' Replied Ichigo tersely.

The man's eyes narrowed slightly, 'I wish I could help you Kurosaki san, but names and addresses of external writers are strictly confidential.'

'But-'

'It is strictly confidential Kurosaki san.'

Ichigo sighed audibly and fought, not for the first time that morning, for calm. He would not give up when he had the first tangible lead in years.

'Listen, it's for something really important. I'm an employee of this newspaper and think it well within my rights to chase a potentially prosperous external writer.'

The payroll man gave a half eye roll, 'The answer is still…' Ichigo frowned at the incomplete answer, only to realise the payroll man's eyes had glazed over slightly while they followed the movement of a pretty, dark haired woman at the other end of the large open plan network of desks.

Instantly Ichigo thought of a plan, 'She's quite pretty.' commented Ichigo with forced nonchalance.

'You're blind; she's nothing less than an angel.' Said the man, his voice still harsh but his eyes remained glazed.

Wow he really had it bad, thought Ichigo, 'I'm guessing you like her.'

'More than she'll ever know.'

'Then tell her.'

The man shifted his gaze and returned to his stiff demeanour, 'No point.'

'Why? She taken?'

'No…'

'Then why?'

'She's too good for me, no use confessing when you know you'll be crushed.'

'What if I could prove you wrong?' challenged Ichigo, his tone confident, his mind buckling with the gamble he was about to take.

The payroll man jerked and a look of pure hope splashed across his face.

'Really?!'

'Yeah… you give me the name and address I need, and I'll get you and her talking.' The suspicion lingered in the man's face, but the abundant hope won out.

'Deal.'

'Good, so what's your name?'

* * *

The woman was more difficult to manoeuvre than Ichigo thought. She had an initially annoying, high pitched voice and his eyes got blinded by the amount of shocking pink decorating her computer and desk. However, after taking pains to converse with her Ichigo found that Sakura Inuzaki was an honest and kind if not rather naïve woman. Ichigo had noticed her furtive glances towards the Payroll man, whose name turned out to be Azuma. While Azuma was too busy having hearts for eyes to notice that she reciprocated shyly in kind.

'Do you know Azuma san?' asked Ichigo nonchalantly.

'Only a little, he's always very careful with his work.' She responded shyly.

'Yeah… I know. What do you think of him?'

'Oh he's a really great guy!' her enthusiasm mellowed as she stopped speaking. 'We used to talk, but then he suddenly stopped.'

'Any idea why?'

She shook her head, 'No, but I guess he must have gotten annoyed with me somehow.'

Ichigo couldn't contain his snort, 'Trust me Inuzaki san, he really doesn't find you annoying.' Her look of hope was identical to Azuma's.

'Really?'

'Yeah, he even called you an angel.'

Sakura's face turned as bright as her pink photo frames, 'R-really? He really said that about me? But then why did he stop talking to me?'

'He's just shy, why don't you say hello to him and find out for yourself.'

She pondered for a moment then shook her head, 'Uh-uh, he should come to me first.'

'Fine, I'll bring him to you.'

* * *

'She wants you to go to her.' Said Ichigo to a frantically perspiring Azuma.

Azuma's eyes dilated in fear 'What?! Now?'

'No time like the presence.'

Azuma stood up from his desk obediently, 'Now?'

'Yes. Now.' Said Ichigo, his eyes closing in irritation. Azuma looked hesitant and started pacing around the narrow floor space he had, 'Just go already!' and he pushed Azuma out into the main pathway towards Sakura.

Ichigo watched from afar in amusement and mild envy as the two spoke nervously to one another, after a few minutes Sakura gave Azuma a bright smile and nodded her head vehemently. Azuma then made his way back to Ichigo in a flurry.

'She said yes!'

'To what?'

'To lunch of course!'

'Oh, congratulations.'

'This is brilliant! Oh I could kiss you!'

'Please. Don't. Ever. Can I have the name and address now then?'

'Of course, a deal is a deal, but don't tell anyone, I'm not really meant to do this.'

A few minutes later a crisp piece of paper was firmly locked in an envelope inside Ichigo's coat pocket. Not wanting to fall to pieces in possible disappointment in front of everybody he had rushed towards his office in nervous agitation and an unnoticeably empty stomach. His finger shakily opened the envelope and with a deep breath Ichigo flipped the paper open from its fold. His eyes widened in astonished relief to read Orihime Inoue's name and address. It was a suburban address, which appeared to be a flat in a complex of some sort. He allowed himself to sink into his chair and let the realisation to hit him… he had finally found her.

* * *

Standing in front of a shabby looking door, Ichigo's eyes jotted from the clean door mat to the quaint welcoming basket of daisies and finally to the brass numbers above the key hole. His eyes wandered to the neighbouring flats and he scowled in worry as he took note of the broken window panes, the chipped door frames and the bitter-sweet scent of Marijuana in the air.

He looked at the address in his hands and the door number again. He started to perspire as he came to the conclusion that this must be where Orihime now lived. That is of course if he found the _right _Orihime Inoue… He dreaded to think how many women went by that name in Tokyo, but he doubted anyone else would have written about the Queen Butterfly, or called themselves Strawberry Gundam, that alone must belong to _the _Orihime Inoue.

Ichigo grinned at that thought but his eyes saw the door number again and he lost his smile. After years of searching, he had almost found her and yet he was hesitating. Many times he had imagined what he would do if he found her, almost all the scenarios involved bursting through doors or windows and clutching her in his arms while he forced her to listen to his pleading apology. He scowled, now none of his bravado came to him, his blood carried only fear of her disgusted face.

He started to pace in front of her door, the smell of marijuana sourcing from the neighbour's flat became more prominent as the air around him shifted. What if she refused to speak to him? She had every right not to allow him within a five mile radius of her… and it has been six years, he could not suppose her to be the same person he had cowardly run away from. Ichigo stopped pacing. He had run away from her once and he'd be damned if he did again. Without further thought he viciously rang the bell, retracting his hand as though burnt and cursing himself for most likely startling Orihime when she already lived in a questionable neighbourhood.

He did not have to ponder long on his inability to ring a door bell properly as the front door swung partially open, but he could not see anybody until he felt a sharp poke at his leg. Refraining from cursing out from the mild pain Ichigo looked down in quickly building anger and anxiety, what he saw made his heart stop.

A little girl, not tall enough to reach his knee, with beautiful auburn hair that nostalgically reached her mid thighs, stared up to him with a deadpan expression and no emotion, not even fear behind her brilliant green eyes. She was almost an identical memory of Orihime when he had first met her, and the fact that this new little miniature Orihime did not smile or even betray a flicker of any kind of expression deeply unnerved Ichigo, despite his full blown shock at discovering what must logically be Orihime's daughter.

Orihime's daughter!

He wanted to swear, cry and yell altogether. But strangely he felt a huge desire to greet the strange girl first, crying and swearing could come afterwards in the privacy of his apartment.

'Hinata!' Came a worried feminine voice laced with anger, Ichigo's heart flipped. 'How many times have I told you never to open the door!' the door swung open fully to accommodate an auburn haired woman.

And there she was.

Dessa's Note: Sorry about the cliff hanger. It's a tactic I hope will work in keeping readers interested :P Happy new year everybody! Isn't this a remarkably quick update? I'm trying to be a better fanfic writer… as I get annoyed when my favourite stories never get updated too. I'm very excited at posting for this story (the final in the My New neighbour trilogy) It is the plot line that I have been leading and preparing everything for! I hope you enjoyed it :D


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Orihime Inoue stood in the innocent doorway, her face had not changed a dot in six years and she had grown very slightly taller, or maybe she seemed older, she seemed a lot older to Ichigo actually. Her face looked tired underneath blatant shock, but Ichigo was too greedy soaking up her presence to ponder on the reasons for her astonishment. Her hair was still up in her trademark bun held by chopsticks, her big knitted jumper and jeans engulfed her body, making her look small and frail. Ichigo continued to unashamedly stare into grey eyes that progressively got wider the longer they started at each other. How he wanted to hold her…

'K-kurosaki-kun?'

Ichigo started out of his staring, his eyes flicked to the little girl who had lost interest in him and had turned around to head back inside. 'Inoue…'

The two stared for a long time, neither not knowing what to say nor what to do.

'W-what are you… doing here?' said Orihime, her face a mirror of shock.

Ichigo glanced down 'I… err… c-can I come inside?' He dared to look up when a few moments passed and she said nothing, her face was confused, she looked torn, this scared Ichigo, a lot. 'Please Inoue, I'd like to talk.'

She looked frightened now, but Ichigo's heart rose in relief when she gingerly stepped aside for him to enter into the narrow hallway.

Sitting down on an old sofa, Ichigo looked around the living room awkwardly while Orihime was in the kitchen making tea and not yet realising how surreal the situation was. The room was small but clean, photos scattered over the walls and coffee tables showed a tale of Orihime with a baby then a toddler and then a small child, Ichigo took very careful note to look for a man in the photos and he was surprised, happy and confused to find no such male. He supposed this meant Orihime was now and always has been a single mother, but the idea was such a foreign concept; against all of the old Orihime's principles that Ichigo was having trouble digesting the thought. Then again she could have lived with a partner and gotten rid of any evidence of his presence later. Did she marry and the lucky fool ditched her with a child? An unreasonable anger boiled and frothed inside him, only too cool down to shame when he realised he too had run away from her… literally. To distract himself Ichigo continued to inspect the living room, toys were perfectly arranged in a line and organised by descending height, different boxes were labelled and a tall tower of building blocks were stacked precisely on top of each other that Ichigo was surprised it had not yet fallen down. The clinical correctness of the toys' organisation were all a bit eerie to Ichigo.

Sudden the voice of Orihime calling out a worried warning in the kitchen carried over to him, what immediately followed were the sounds of a crash and an ear splitting scream of a little girl. Alert and with a new kind of fear driving him, Ichigo ran towards the screams and was stomped to find the little girl still crying like the world was crashing around her ears with Orihime kneeling on the floor; struggling to maintain the crying girl within her arms as she hugged the child tightly. This carried on for several seconds and the child gradually quieted down and started to reciprocate the hug. Ichigo watched them like an outsider observing the essence of familial love, the scene made him warm that a beautiful picture of a mother comforting her child brought, but he also felt jealous that he had no role to play in their private comfort. Awkwardly, Ichigo was about to make his presence known until Orihime spoke.

'Kurosaki-kun, please get a jug of very cold tap water.' Like a zombie Ichigo followed orders without question and brought the jug of cold water to her, noticing for the first time a broken mug on the floor, hot tea spread around it in random splashes. After a few more seconds Orihime slowly let go of the child, who continued to simper in pain and fear, she then took the little girl's left hand and carefully dipped it into the water, immediately the child started to struggle and cry. But with gentle insistence Orihime succeeded in persuading the child at keeping her hand inside the jar. 'Thank you Kurosaki-kun.'

'It's okay, but what happened?'

'Hinata-chan was trying to help me and tried picking up the hot tea cup, it was too hot for her so she dropped it and her hand got burned from the hot water.' Replied Orihime, she seemed tired as she pulled out Hinata's hand from the jug of cold water, Hinata's paused tears looked like they would spill again, Orihime gently blew on the wet hand, comforting the child a little.

'But why did you hug her first? And force her to stay hugging you?' asked Ichigo in confusion.

Orihime sighed and looked directly at Ichigo noticing for the first time that he sat squatted on the floor just as she was kneeling, 'Hinata has Autism, when she gets scared or anxious she starts screaming and getting more anxious. Hugging her and applying body pressure is good at calming the anxiety, but she doesn't like to be hugged much.' Orihime turned to Hinata and smiled faintly at her, Ichigo was sad to note that it was not returned, 'But when she accepts the hugs she warms up to them eventually.'

Autism… he didn't know much about it, but it must be the reason why Orihime looked so tired, he supposed it must be beyond hard to parent an autistic child by yourself. Ichigo wanted to ask more questions, but he looked upon the two cuddling close together and suddenly he felt like an imposer, invading into a private moment. He stood up.

'Forget tea, I never liked it much anyway.'

After several long moments of awkward silence punctured by awkward sips of water, Orihime had had enough of the inadequacy and asked what she really wanted to know.

'How did you find me?'

Ichigo looked up from his glass of water to find Orihime's impassive face. 'I saw one of your stories in the Tokyo papers.' He explained nonchalantly.

'How did you know they were one of my stories? They could have been anybody's.' She reasoned.

'I remember you describing the same story to me when we were kids.' He was pleased to note that she blushed slightly at that.

'Well, you found me.' She said quietly, staring at her own glass of water.

'Yeah…' Silence engulfed the for a long time, Ichigo took this time to appraise his host, she was just as beautiful as she always had been, but her eyes were tired, and her lips no longer held that tiny smile she would usually hold even when she was alone and unoccupied.

'If you have nothing else to say than maybe it would be best if you leave, Kurosaki-kun.' Said Orihime, Ichigo relocated his sight onto her face and noticed she looked angry, probably because he had run out on her wedding day.

'No- Inoue there was something I wanted to say.' She waited patiently, but still with a deadpan expression which annoyed Ichigo immensely for some unknown reason. 'I… I wanted to say sorry, for… for everything.'

Orihime's eyes softened a little, 'Thank you, but I forgave you a long time ago, mostly because I had too much to deal with in life that I had no space for hurt anymore.' She looked out the window to stare at the blue sky, 'I have often thought about what life would have been like if we had been… together that day… but maybe this way was for the best.' She looked away from the window and gave Ichigo a small smile.

Despite himself Ichigo felt duly angry, 'For the best?'

'Yes, for the best… Life has been very different for us Kurosaki-kun, so one way or the other, you probably would have left me anyway.'

Ichigo could feel the blood leaking from his stabbed heart. 'I wouldn't be so heartless as to leave my family.'

'But you left me.' Her small voice slashed through him with such force that he was rendered temporarily mute, he attempted several times to reply back to her, to explain himself, to plead his case, but he was as soundless as a goldfish. She eventually spared Ichigo further pain, 'I don't want to have any grudges Kurosaki-kun, so accept my pardon.' She smiled slightly and his heart lifted even as he hung his head, overloaded with emotions he couldn't process.

'Inoue… I know I don't deserve to be in the same room with you, but I valued our friendship, a lot. If you're willing, could we… perhaps be… be friends again?' He wished he could have worded it differently, he hated how high school it sounded.

Orihime tensed, she averted he gaze to her sloshing cup of water and placed it down onto the chipped coffee table in front of her. 'I'm sorry Kurosaki kun.'

A strange grip of fear spread through Ichigo. 'Please Inoue.'

She looked into his eyes and winced at the dashed hope, 'I'm sorry, but I've been h-hurt too much to be friends Kurosaki kun.'

He hung his head in shame, a few second later, 'Is there… no way?' he wanted to cringe at how open and vulnerable he left himself to an inevitable laceration, to his surprise, Orihime looked torn. Her eyes moved from side to side in confused thought and she blushed slightly.

'I- I can't, I have to think of Hinata now and…. I-it wouldn't be right'

'Why? Why the hell not?'

'Because…' She looked up at him, a strange nonchalance behind her eyes, but it could have been carefully disguised regret, 'I'm engaged.'

* * *

Ichigo didn't know how but he had somehow returned to his apartment before the evening dew rose. He had been in a dazed state, not knowing or caring where he was. His mind was frozen by the last two words Orihime had said, he had made an awkward fake excuse and let himself out of her apartment before she had a moment to stop him.

He didn't know why he was acting so strangely or why he felt so hurt. Logically Ichigo did suppose Orihime's engagement was a realistic situation, she had after all obviously moved on with her life, she didn't lament on the past, didn't think about him, didn't want a future with him. Ichigo's chest tightened, had he wasted all his time? Thinking how she was, wondering where she was, hoping for a life with her… was everything he saved for her wasted? Had his painstakingly preserved celibacy been for nothing?

Ichigo scrunched his eyes and let himself flop backwards onto his bed. He opened his eyes to stare unblinkingly at the ceiling.

_No_

He had no right to have hoped for a second chance, he had screwed up his first chance and was foolishly optimistic to think that life would have paused for six years where Orihime's life would not change at all and that she would take him back with open arms.

He closed his eyes, trying to see her face behind his eyelids. So he screwed up, he would have to accept that. He was indebted by heartache to Orihime and he owed her happiness.

Ichigo opened his eyes again, the irises shining with resolve. If she wasn't going to let him make her happy, then he would make sure the lucky git who got her would or face an endless life of pain.

* * *

The next day was a weekend, comfortable summer sunshine graced the door he had fled from just the day before, but now Ichigo knocked strongly and didn't flinch when an astonished Orihime opened the door.

'Kurosaki-kun?!' as her eyes grew wider, Ichigo decided her eyes could look beautiful in any emotion.

'I know you still hate me and want nothing to do with me, but I can't leave without making sure you'll be alright, not when I just found you.'

She was naturally speechless, but her cheeks couldn't hide the steady blush which blossomed on her frozen face. Ichigo took advantage of the situation to peek into the hallway over Orihime's shoulder, he instantly noticed a big pair of black shiny shoes laying sprawled in a corner near a coat rack.

'Is _he_ here?' asked Ichigo, his voice becoming darker and heavier.

Orihime wanted to shiver from the sound of it, but she found herself still frozen in shock, and she nodded obediently, not fully comprehending what her answer could result in.

'Good, I hope you don't mind introducing us.' Said Ichigo casually as he opened the door wider and stepped inside easily. This shook Orihime awake and she grew nervous at the idea of the two men meeting. 'No! Kurosaki-kun, this is not a good idea or a good time.'

Ichigo sent her one look of resolve and stooped down to take his shoes off, placing them neatly next to her own outdoor shoes. He then stood up and strolled towards the small living room and he did not like what he saw. A tall man, with black sleeked hair and wearing a crisp navy suit sat comfortably spread on Orihime's sofa, but he was gazing warily towards Hinata who sat quietly in the corner of the room, busily lining her toys by order of size. When the man noticed Ichigo he gave him a lazy once over and smirked slightly at the visible frown of disapproval on his face.

Orihime rushed in hurriedly a moment later, looking worried and slightly panicked. 'Orihime, who is this?' asked the man casually, almost amused.

The flustered woman gulped, 'Narita-kun, this is Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki-kun this is Hideko Narita.'

'And her fiancé.' Added Narita pointedly, serving with an arrogant smile. Ichigo narrowed his eyes. Faintly, he could hear Orihime hold her breath. 'How do you know Orihime?' he asked Ichigo.

'We went to University together.' Replied Ichigo curtly, and he was surprised to note equal surprise in his listener.

Narita turned to Orihime, 'I didn't know you went to University.' He stated accusingly.

'I-I didn't finish, I didn't get a degree.' replied Orihime, her cheeks blushing heavily in embarrassment and shame, her gaze fixed at the floor. This angered Ichigo, but he could not deny that he was also surprised and confused that she hadn't disclosed an important part of her history to the arrogant careless man who dared call himself Orihime's fiancé.

'Oh.' replied Narita, a hint of condescension in his tone. This shook Orihime out of her shamed stupor.

'Anyway, Kurosaki-kun just wanted to say hi, he must be busy with many important things to stay here in this small flat.' Rambled Orihime, her awkwardness so painfully obvious that it made Ichigo want to comfort her, even if it meant leaving.

'So you're an important man Kurosaki?' asked Narita, his oiled voice soaking in derision as his eyes looked over Ichigo's non-suited form. Ichigo frowned more, 'What do you do?'

'I edit and write for the Tokyo Times.' Was Ichigo's short answer, his thin patience wearing thinner with each second.

'Oh, what a pity. With that orange hair you would have made a funny chauffeur for my car hire company.' Said Narita, and he shook his wrist to show off his thick gold watch while he pretended to fix the silver cufflinks at the end of his sleeve.

Orihime blushed.

Ichigo scowled deeper. 'I prefer writing about idiots with too much money and not enough sense.'

To his surprise Narita just laughed lightly. 'You'd get more readers by writing about good looking men with trophy wives. The public like reading about what they can't get.'

It was safe to say that Ichigo was angry, quite angry actually. He knew it would have been safer to reply with a witty sharp line, and it would have been wiser to not reply at all. But Ichigo did neither, instead he lunged for the egotistical man with the irritating sleeked hair and made a perfect aim for the face. Ichigo would have been successful too had Orihime not stopped him by the lightest touch of her hand upon his arm, and like a tamed lion Ichigo withdrew grudgingly. He stared at Orihime in incredulity, wondering how she could tolerate such an idiot, but Ichigo's anger dissipated when he observed Orihime's worried eyes that continually darted between his face and Hinata, who had suddenly stopped arranging her toys to peer with vacant eyes at the disruptive adults. He felt ashamed, he had almost forgotten a little child was with them in the room.

'Please… Kurosaki-kun, don't.' and he didn't.

With her eyes she made an unspoken plead for him to leave, and against every instinct, urge and principle in his body he turned and left, leaving behind a grinning Narita.

* * *

Ichigo stormed back to his apartments, his breathing was deep and angry. One thought ran through his head, 'how could she marry that arrogant git?' The superciliousness Narita exuded was overwhelming, his flamboyancy was beyond irritating and his disrespect of Orihime was downright alarming. Ichigo could not wrap his head around that fact that Orihime had agreed to _marry_ the git.

He knew he had no control over Orihime's decisions, but he'd be damned if he let this go on without doing something about it.

* * *

Orihime sat down in relief on the park bench. It had been a tough few days and she was grateful to have gotten out of her apartment, away from the temporary chaos and to a place of calm. She glanced around for Hinata, subconsciously following the small girl with her gaze . Hinata had managed to climb up the steps to a silver slide but a feeling of sadness clouded Orihime's eyes when she took note of the very small expression of confusion on Hinata's face as children slid down the slide in variable ways. Orihime's fear for Hinata's future was sometimes regulated, and sometimes out of control in a tornado of panic.

A tornado of panic was a good explanation for how Orihime felt yesterday, her old fiancé and current fiancé meeting was completely surreal and not an experience Orihime wished to repeat. She had to tell of Narita-kun when Ichigo had left, he had smiled charmingly and told her it was all a joke and she needn't be so serious about it. Orihime frowned, she hoped with time that both of their faults will improve with patience and compromise, but she had to admit she did not like his behaviour yesterday at all.

She glanced up to find Hinata playing in a sand pit with a small boy her age, Orihime smiled. It was very rare that Hinata played with anybody else, she was currently attempting to make small sand castles, she had made three when the small boy approached her and asked to join, Orihime smiled slightly when she observed Hinata explaining with limited words, movements and arm gestures (albeit with a blank facial expression) to the boy how the sandcastles should be made and how she wanted them organised in the sand pit. To Orihime's surprise, the boy nodded obediently and started to make the required sand castles.

'They're cute.' said a voice close bye, Orihime jumped when she realised that it was Ichigo and he was sitting right next to her on the wooden bench.

'Kurosaki-kun! Wha-what are you doing here?' Orihime was starting to think there was no other greeting she could say to him.

Ichigo smirked a little, 'I'm not following you I promise.' He then nodded towards the two children, 'They remind me of us.' Said Ichigo boldly.

'That was a long time ago Kurosaki-kun.'

'She looks like you, a lot.' Said Ichigo, his voice mixed with pride and disappointment.

'I know, but she doesn't speak yet, it makes me worried.'

'Then get a speech therapist.'

'I wish I could.'

'Why not?'

'They cost money Kurosaki-kun.' Replied Orihime tersely, a foreign tone to her voice, Ichigo frowned; it did not suit Orihime to be cold.

'Is that why you're marrying what's- his-face?' asked Ichigo in equal terseness.

Orihime turned to look at him, Ichigo's scowl was fitted to its usual depth, but he also looked hurt and disappointed. 'Narita-kun is not as bad as you saw him yesterday. But life's been tough, and I have to think of Hinata-chan's future.' Orihime glanced quickly at Hinata and noticed that the little boy had given her a chocolate bar, it made her want to smile, but Ichigo's next question wiped off any smile she held.

'So you _are_ marrying him for his money?' asked Ichigo incredulously, as though he didn't want to believe his own words.

Orihime frowned, 'No, I'm marrying him because I need stability for Hinata chan. Marrying someone is not all about oneself Kurosaki-kun.'

'And you think you can get stability with that git?'

'He is not as bad as you think he is.'

'He's probably worse.'

'And even if he is, it's none of your concern Kurosaki-kun. Not anymore.'

Ichigo could feel his heart bleeding again, but he supposed he deserved that. 'Perhaps it's not my business, but I still care too damn much to let you do this without letting you know that Narita is an egotistical, selfish bastard who will punish you for marrying him.' He took a deep breath in after his rather wordy speech, the beginnings of a blush was making its way to his cheeks as he observed Orihime observing him keenly, her eyes peering into his, searching for something neither were aware of. Suddenly Orihime pulled away from Ichigo's eyes when she heard a loud scream, instantly panic rose in her when she saw Hinata crying and screaming, itching her face and her little hands grappling for her throat. Without a second thought Orihime ran to Hinata, Ichigo was fast at her heels. Hinata had broken out in itchy hives, spots on her face were becoming read and there were large swellings around the lining of her lips and eyelids.

'Hinata!' cried Orihime in panic as Hinata continued to scream in discomfort, but her screams were losing energy. Orihime put her arms around the girl and rocked her gently, but this didn't

'What happened?' came a calm voice, she looked to her right to see Ichigo talking to a nervous and worried boy, the same boy who had been playing with Hinata.

'I-I don't know… she ate the chocolate I gave her and th-then her lips got b-big. Mama!' suddenly the boy's mother was by his side.

'What's wrong?' said the worried mother, coming up to her son's side and wrapping a protective arm around the scared boy.

Ichigo glanced at Orihime, who had eyes only for her daughter, 'Hinata is having some kind of reaction, you're son gave her a chocolate, it might have cause the reaction.'

'Ichigo!' Ichigo was startled at the panic in Orihime's voice, 'We need to get her to the hospital!'

Without being told twice, Ichigo grabbed the rest of the chocolate bar, put it in his pocket, then took the little girl in his arms and ran towards his car.

**Dessa's Note: AAAH! Stuff is happening so fast! I normally draw it out over lots of chapters but I promised myself this would be a short fic! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! They did pretty much express a sense of sadness for the fact that Hinata exists, but all will be revealed *magic stardust explodes from sky* Thank you to ReneeTanaka, Nypsy, Chibisamasempai20, fsj101, foxfang27, June, xlilslayerx, naleah, Gothic Sweetheart, AbaraiArekushisu, JustDance3Fan, Ethereal, Xtremefairy, LilyTiger24 and Magdalena88. You are all wonderful people! I am a heartless writing tease :P**


	3. Chapter 3

**Dessa's Note: I'm back! Sorry about the late update, I was away on a mini holy pilgrimage and I was busy with getting ready for my driving test (which I passed Thank GOD!) so now here is chapter three… enjoy!**

Chapter 3

It was by borderline dangerous driving that Ichigo managed to deliver Orihime and a rapidly inflating Hinata to the local Hospital. Once they had arrived he looked towards Orihime for direction of action as he assumed she had faced a similar situation in the past, but on ascertaining her condition Ichigo was surprised to find that she looked just as lost as him. Immediately he guided her towards a nurses station, as though aiding her was his sole purpose, and he explained the situation to a tired nurse in rushed sentences but clear diction.

The tired nurse took one look at Hinata's inflamed eyelids and lips and then proceeded to organise a bed for her within minutes. When Orihime gently parted from her daughter for the first time since the park and placed the small scared girl on the bed a second nurse suddenly appeared.

'I'm one of the staff nurses here, has your daughter had this type of reaction before?'

'No' said Orihime shakily, her eyes not leaving her daughter.

'What's her name?'

'Hinata Inoue'

The nurse nodded and turned to address Hinata, 'Hello Hinata, can you hear me? Does it hurt anywhere?'

The nurse frowned at the lack of response, Hinata didn't even look at her or show any signs that she had heard the nurse, she only had eyes for her mother.

'She can't talk yet, she has Autism.'

'Is she high functioning?'

Orihime got annoyed at the question, not seeing the point in the middle of a medical emergency and shook her head in the negative. The nurse looked again at Hinata, but this time she remained silent for a few moments, until Orihime burst with anxiety, 'Can you please just help her?!'

Without a bat of the eyelash the nurse turned hard eyes to her, 'Are you sure?'

The comprehension of the blasphemy took longer to register with Ichigo that Orihime, who lunged for the nurse, her hand outstretched, ready to slap her with hard angry intentions. Ichigo jumped in instinctively and caught Orihime's hand with one of his own before it made contact with the nurse, his other hand circled Orihime and pulled her towards him.

When he managed to secure Orihime, he turned towards the now stricken looking nurse. 'Get the doctor' said he in an unintentionally menacing voice. The nurse staggered back and out of the room, when she was out Orihime seemed to lose the last of her strength and began crying against Ichigo's chest. Her panic, anxiety, stress and anger bleeding through her tearing eyes and shaking shoulders. Ichigo could only embrace her and feel guilty that he enjoyed being so close to her when she was too weak to reject him.

Out in the biting winds of the night, Orihime paced along the entrance of the hospital, typing a number in her mobile phone's keypad and trying to avoid inhaling the fumes from surrounding smokers, who peered at her curiously. She held the phone to her ear nervously.

'Orihime?'

'Hello Narita-kun.'

'Hey honey, what's up?'

She exhaled in preparation, 'I'm at the hospital.'

'Oh…' there was a pause, 'Are you alright?'

'Yes I'm fine-'

'Then what's wrong?' interrupted Narita, Orihime exhaled again and fought the frown of irritation that was threatening to conquer her brow.

'It's Hinata, she had an allergic reaction.'

'Is that all? Why didn't you spray some of that stuff for nettles you can get from the chemists?'

'It was a very big allergic reaction Narita kun, so I brought her to the hospital.' She deliberately omitted the fact that it was actually Ichigo who had brought them to the hospital. He had been nothing but helpful since Hinata had bitten into the chocolate bar, which upon closer inspection (because Ichigo had the right mind to bring it with him to the hospital) turned out to have peanuts in it. But she didn't think she had the energy to deal with whatever reaction her fiancé would have to that piece of information.

'Oh.' Was his intelligent reply.

'Can you pick us up please? Hinata's nearly-'

'I don't think I can Orihime, I'm really busy with work.'

Orihime closed her eyes and inhaled, 'I really need your help Narita-kun, today has been very hard.'

'My work is really hard too Orihime. I'd like to help, but like I said, I'm really busy.'

'You own a car hire company, can't you send one of your cars for me?'

'They're all taken. Listen Orihime, I can't just drop everything just because Hinata got sick. Just leave the hospital the same way you got there.'

Orihime's eyes snapped open, 'Fine.' And she angrily flipped the phone closed, only to get angrier that the small act was inadequate an action to relieve her of her growing irritation and stress.

Resigned, she made her way up to Hinata's room, pondering the whole time if she had enough money in her purse for a taxi ride home and the rest of the week's food bill. She concluded that she would have to go a little hungry this week again. In a fatigued daze she walked into Hinata's room and was surprised to see Ichigo gazing upon her sleeping daughter in intrigue and something sad in his eyes.

He noticed her first, 'Hey Inoue.'

She was surprised he stayed so late when he had no reason to, 'You don't have to stay anymore, you can go home now you know.'

A fleeting look of hurt crossed his face 'It's alright. I didn't want to leave Hinata in case she woke up and found herself alone.'

Her face contracted in guilt. 'Thank you, really, thank you for everything Kurosaki-kun, but we'll be fine now.' Orihime didn't know why but she felt the need to establish her independence from him.

He stood up from his chair and walked towards her imploringly; resulting in alarming her and making her take a step back in apprehension, the same look of sadness cascaded over Ichigo's visage and he stopped in his tracks. She looked away. 'Hinata is doing much better since the doctors gave her the adrenaline injection. They say she can go home soon,' he dared a glance her way, 'let me drive you both back?'

She looked back at him and her heart tore at the hopeful face he wore, Orihime averted her eyes again. Didn't he see that she didn't want to depend on him?'

'We'll be fine Kurosaki-kun.'

'Just let me drive you home. That way I won't be worried, okay? Let me drive you for my sake?'

Orihime hung her head in defeat, 'Okay.' Ichigo wanted to smile in victory, though the way Orihime hung her head as though guilty made him want to comfort her, but he knew she hated his proximity so he stayed put.

A period of insignificant time passed and Ichigo pulled up in front of the dodgy complex, which looked even more sinister during the night. They both remained seated, not moving an inch, one too tired to move, the other reluctant. Eventually Orihime sighed and unbuckled her seat belt, Ichigo followed her example and rushed to the back seat to pick up the still sleeping Hinata before Orihime could burden herself. Orihime, too fatigued from her anxiety made no effort to stop him and led the way to her apartment.

At the door, Orihime opened it and held out her arms, indicating for Ichigo to return her child, Ichigo shook his head once, shaking himself from a near daydream of Orihime's arms outstretched towards him, he carefully handed Hinata over to her. There was silence for a moment, where Orihime contemplated and Ichigo waited in perspiring anxiety.

'Would you like a cup of tea Kurosaki-kun? It's been a long day.'

He visibly relaxed, 'That would be great.'

Orihime placed a tray with two of her best tea cups, steam flowing from the tops of them. She then sat across from Ichigo in one of the available two battered armchairs and waited for him to take his cup first. Noticing this, Ichigo hurried to take his cup but he remained hasty while sipping and ended up burning his mouth, causing him to splutter and cough with embarrassing clarity.

'Are you okay?!'

'Yup! I'm fine!' replied he in faked nonchalance, she saw through him as though he were made of crystal and quickly brought him a cold glass of tap water, which he gulped down gratefully.

'Thanks.'

'It's alright.'

Silence.

Ichigo had so many questions he wanted to ask but felt like the silence was too thick a wall to penetrate.

'So will everything be okay with the medical insurance?'

She flicked her eyes to him as though just remembering he sat in her living room. 'I hope so, not many companies were willing to cover Hinata, but we found one in the end and they've been okay sometimes.'

'Sometimes?' asked Ichigo sceptically.

'Well… other times their not so good. But I always manage.'

'If they screw you over then you can come to me, I'll always help you if you need it.'

Orihime titled her head and almost smiled, his words of promise took her back to the past, where she was young and carefree and prioritised herself in life. He would say strong secure words then too, but he broke his promises… he left her. Orihime looked away.

'Why are you in Tokyo Kurosaki-kun?'

Ichigo paused before he answered, giving her a furtive look, 'My work wanted to send me to a new stimulating environment, but I was hoping to find you.'

Orihime blushed, 'Why?'

Ichigo threaded his fingers through his hair 'When I…. When I left you, I had no idea how to think, or what to feel. I didn't trust myself, the only compulsion I had was to go back to you. But I was a coward, I waited until Uni started to find you and apologise properly, because that way I knew you couldn't escape me when we would still be in the same area. But you weren't there.' He stared at her then, she didn't make any reply, so he carried on, 'Everyone was shocked, no one could understand why you would suddenly abandon your studies when you were so clever. But I… I realised that you were trying to avoid me, and that hurt, even though I had no right to feel that way, but it fuelled me to find you and it took me a long time, but I got there in the end.'

'That doesn't answer my question.' She said, but her voice was vibrating with emotion.

Ichigo leaned forward in his chair, trying to get as close to Orihime as he could. 'I wanted to apologise and make amends, and if you were crazy enough… to let me court you.'

Orihime wondered how his face could remain the same colour when hers no doubt was a burning tomato. In an attempt to hide her face Orihime stared resolutely at her skirt, smoothing away creases that weren't there. 'Well, I've already forgiven you… Things are different now, we're both older, with different lives and I have Hinata, my decisions are no longer my own and that is that.'

'Why can't it be?'

She stared at him in slight anger then, 'Do you have any idea how hard it is to raise a child? An autistic child? By your self? Have you ever had an awkward conversation with a potential partner about the fact that you have a child and expect your partner to accept that in their lives?'

'So that's why you're marrying Narita?'

That turned Orihime stony, 'That's none of your business.'

'Maybe not, but I'm not going to stand and do nothing while I see you sell yourself short.'

'There is no "selling" Kurosaki-kun, I am making a logical decision for the good of Hinata not my own. I'm not prostituting myself!'

'I never said you were prostituting yourself, but knowingly giving yourself to a bastard for alternative motives is very close to it.'

Hurt eyes glared at him, 'How dare you. You think you can run away from me on our wedding day, leave me to deal with hardships alone, let me make drastic decisions on my own then waltz into my life years later and tell me I'm prostituting myself?!'

Ichigo steeled himself, 'I'm just telling you what I see, I'm trying to warn you as a friend.'

Orihime crossed her arms, 'It's a bit late for that Kurosaki-kun, you've already done some unfriendly things towards me.'

Icigo wanted to tear his hair out of his head, he even attempted to by burrowing his hands in his unruly hair, 'I'm sorry! Okay? I'm really really sorry, it was and still is the biggest regret of my life…'

But something had broken in Orihime, 'You broke my heart! Saying sorry is just not good enough.'

'Then tell me what to do to make it up to you and I'll do it!' at this Orihime reclined into herself, crossed her arms and looked away, Ichigo gazed upon her, wondering where the old Orihime had gone to, the one who smiled freely and would walk as though she had springs on the balls of her feet, the woman who had given him his heart. Now he saw a tired grown adult, with scars and burdens that may have been too much to bear alone. It stayed quiet for a long while until Ichigo forced himself to speak again, 'I thought you've already forgiven me.'

'So did I….' replied she sadly. Ichigo didn't know how to react to that so he stayed quiet, they both remained quiet for a long time, the atmosphere tense and yet calm at the same time. 'Why did you leave me that day Kurosaki-kun? I could never understand why.'

He sighed in preparation and kneaded the back of his neck, 'I was 19 Inoue. I was young and dumb, I didn't know what I was doing. My dad tried to warn me, he said marriage was a responsibility, not some game you play. So I tried asking you to delay it, but you were so happy and excited… I didn't have the guts to break it off before the date.' Ichigo sighed, not liking to have to think about his grave mistakes, 'On the day itself I got really scared, my dad tried knocking some sense into me, told me to man up and face my decisions… but I was still just some kid who didn't have a clue. But what I was scared most of was ruining your life by tying it to mine when it was still weak and fragile.'

There was silence again, Orihime didn't know how to absorb all the information, her emotions were spinning so much she wished she could just switch off her brain, instead she questioned him further, 'Then why did you propose to me in the first place?'

A guilty look crossed Ichigo's face, he threaded his fingers through his hair and deliberated on what to say. There was no competition, she deserved the truth. 'Back at University, I don't know if you noticed it but everyone around us were getting … coupled off and… and having sex.' He gulped when he saw Orihime narrow her eyes as though she knew what he was about to say next.

'I did notice.' She said curtly.

'I was curious about it too… but you had your rules, so I tried to flow with them.'

'You proposed to me for sex?! Was that the only reason you dated me?!'

'No! I cared for you! I still do! I never wanted to date you just for sex!' his voice had raised incrementally until he realised he was shouting, he sighed again and slumped in his seat. 'But I can't deny that I wanted sex.' He then looked directly at her, unflinching, 'I still do, and I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting it either.'

Orihime averted her eyes and fidgeted with her skirt again, her cheeks a rosy red. 'I never said that it was wrong to want sex.'

'Then… why? Not that your principles were a bad thing, but I didn't understand the reasoning for them.'

Orihime sighed, closed her eyes and leaned her forehead onto the palm of her hand. 'My mother… was taken advantage of twice, she thought she was in love, or maybe she really was in love, with a man who seduced her after promising to marry her, she ended up pregnant with my brother, the father never married her, in fact, he married another rich woman a few months after he seduced my mother, so she gave my brother her own name.'

'I'm sorry… some guys are bastards out there.'

'My mother then thought she had fallen in love again, and was promised a marriage to my father… who left her pregnant too.'

Ichigo scooted forward in his chair, 'Inoue, you know I would never ever do something like that to you.'

'But… but you did!' Ichigo's heart broke again from the catch in her voice from the dam of emotion threatening to break loose. 'You left me!'

'I wouldn't have if you were pregnant! With my child too! I may have been young and stupid, but I would never be cruel to you. I only left you from the fear of crippling your life.' She hung her head, not knowing how to comprehend what she had heard. 'For what its worth, I'm proud of you for sticking to your rules, I understand now why you stuck to them, and I was wrong for following just my own desires without consulting you.'

Orihime shook her head, 'No Kurosaki-kun, It was my fault too. I didn't know my rules were affecting you so much. I shouldn't have expected you to marry me when we were both so young. I suppose I was being naiive… and… and I guess I was making decisions by my own wishes too. So… sorry.'

'Inoue, you don't owe anyone an apology.' She gazed at him, and he at her, and neither wanted to look away. Eventually Ichigo broke the contact needing more answers about problems he couldn't solve, 'But I have wondered about something…' she nodded at him, showing she was listening, 'To find you with a child after all these years really did… shock me. And for Hinata to be her age you must have married really soon after… after us. Did you get over me so quickly? Did you have to leave Uni? Did you have to move so far away from me? Couldn't you have given me… us… another chance?'

It was only when Ichigo had finished speaking did he realise that Orihime's face had gone pale with anger. 'You think I married another man the day after you left me?'

Ichigo's stomach sunk in guilt and confusion, 'B-but… I thought.'

'You thought wrong. Instead of making assumptions you can just ask me questions.'

'I'm sorry, I didn't think I had the right to ask you anything.' Orihime softened at that.

'When you… left me, I was… I was… I don't know who I was, I was so heartbroken. I felt like my entire world had gone upside down, that all of Truth was actually a Lie. But then two weeks later I found out that my brother had…' Orihime swallowed, tears starting to form in her eyes, 'Onii san had passed away with his wife, in a… car crash. I went to the funeral and found that they left behind a child. Hinata was only 3 months old at the time, she kept crying for her mother…' Orihime paused and made a lengthy exhale to control herself.

'Orihime,' she looked up at the sound of her name, yearning for the comfort in Ichigo's voice, 'You don't have to tell me, I'm sorry I assumed the worst of you.'

She didn't say anything for a long time, 'No, I want to say it. I never have to anyone.' Ichigo stared at her thoughtfully but nodded and let her continue, 'Everyone was there for the funeral, but no one wanted to look after her, so I took her in and contacted her maternal grandparents. They didn't come to the funeral, at first I was confused but when I spoke to them I learnt that they had never approved of Onii-san because he was not as rich as they were, it might be the reason why Onii-san didn't say much to me about his marriage, maybe he wanted to protect me from them. I tried to make the grandparents reconsider but they were adamant, they even said they would put Hinata in an orphanage!' Orihime paused again to let the horror of such a situation wash off her, 'So I took her, I left University and came here to find a job, I did many odd jobs and managed to stay afloat but with Hinata it was so hard… when she turned one I realised something was not right with her… maybe I always suspected, she never made any sounds, never reacted to the adults or children, never grabbed things like the other children at the nursery did. I didn't want to believe it, but then I went to the doctor and they told me she had autism.' She sighed, 'Ever since then I've been so scared about her, what will she be like in the future? How will she manage? What will life give her? How can I give her the right education and attention when I'm at five places at once just trying to make the rent?' Before she knew it Ichigo was sitting next to her and holding her hand, she tried to pull away but he held it tight, that was when she noticed she was crying.

'Why are you doing this Kurosaki-kun? We are not in University anymore, you have your life and I have mine.'

'Because I want our lives to join.'

'Don't say things you don't mean, you don't want Hinata in your life.'

'Yes I do. If she is important to you then she is important to me, and even though she is not your biological daughter, she still reminds me of you.' She held her breath, he didn't take his eyes off her, not for a single second 'I... I still want you Orihime.'

'Y-you don't still w-want m-me… you must have had many girlfriends and-'

'I haven't' interrupted Ichigo.

'What?'

'I've never dated anyone other than you, so I'm not lying when I say I still want you.' Said Ichigo bluntly, careless with tact and reckless with his words.

Her blush deepened, 'Th-that doesn't mean you've stayed… you could have had a one off woman or-'

'Inoue, believe me when I say I have not approached or been approached by any woman since the day I broke both our hearts. I wanted to show you that I've only ever wanted you and I hoped it would help plead my case for your hand.'

Orihime stared at his smouldering brown eyes that stared right back at her with such openness that she felt she was looking upon something sacred. Then what he said finally hit her and she gasped slightly, she found it near impossible to believe that a man like himself had remained celibate, for her! Even though he didn't share her opinions about extra-marital sex.

'Th-that is umm… that is quite err…' she covered her face in despair, happiness and confusion, 'I don't know what to say!'

'Say you won't marry Narita, please… I understand that I've ruined any chance of us being together, but don't marry someone who doesn't deserve you at all!'

To his surprise Orihime giggled quietly, and he was completely thrown off as it just occurred to him that this was the first time he had seen her laugh or smile in years. 'I decided today not to marry him.'

'Eh? Why? What happened?'

'I asked him for help when we were at the hospital, and he didn't care at all about Hinata. That more than anything got me angry and I realised that he could never be a good husband to me if he doesn't care about my daughter.'

'Oh.' Was Ichigo's reply, he tried to reign in his reaction, but he couldn't help the extremely hopeful look splashed across his face, 'so does this mean… that you're single again?'

'Technically yes, I have to tell Narita-kun first though.'

'He doesn't know?'

'No, I was very angry that he didn't help me when I needed it, but I wanted to wait until I was calmer to decide if I still wanted to marry him. But you helped me make that decision.' Then she smiled at him again, and he melted, only realising then how dependent he was on her smile.

'So could you… maybe… c-consider… me?' Ichigo wanted to face palm, six years of adulthood and he still couldn't speak eloquently.

To his utter mortification Orihime looked scared and uncertain, 'I- I don't know Kurosaki-kun, I don't want to get hurt again.'

'Orihime.' She looked up at her name from his lips, 'I hurt both of us, and I promise I will never ever hurt us again and that I will look after Hinata as if she was my own.'

'But Hinata is different…' she paused, ' How… how do I know you will be able to take on the responsibility of caring for her?'

He paused before answering and hardened himself in resolution, 'I may have been weak willed when I was young, and caused you terrible pain because I followed whimsical peer pressure, but I have changed. Inoue, I'm not afraid of responsibility anymore.'

She looked into his eyes, trying to ascertain his truthfulness. 'I… I'm not the same person I was before, are you sure… I won't blame you if you leave now because I come with Hinata and she will not be easy to care for.'

She was surprised when Ichigo gave her a small smile, 'Marry me.' Her eyes nearly popped out clean from their sockets. 'I'm dead serious about having you Orihime, and I accept all the responsibilities that our marriage would bring me, including raising Hinata. So please Orihime, marry me.'

She gazed it him, her eyes looking back and forth at every angle of his face, trying to comprehend his words, she felt nothing but his sincerity. The tears that had built up on Orihime's eyes lids finally spilled when she nodded her consent.

Dessa's note: Yay its done! I hope you enjoyed that! Thank you to all who reviewed me last chapter! Including .3386, Nalu, Alice hattercandy, Michiko Burel, Ermilus, Chibisamasempai, Xtremefairy, dantheman23, Aiding Angel, nypsy, RazorBlueBlade, Sage of Downtown Hyrule, June and XlislayerX. You are all wonderful people!


End file.
